An Analysis of Errors in Written Arabic Compositions by First-Year Students at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto

Error analysis remains one of the most productive methodologies in applied linguistics for diagnosing learner difficulties and informing instructional intervention. This study analyses the morphosyntactic and lexical errors in written Arabic compositions produced by first-year students at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, with the goal of identifying systematic error patterns attributable to mother tongue interference and instructional gaps. Using a purposive sample of 80 compositions collected from two consecutive academic cohorts, the study applies a taxonomic error analysis framework that distinguishes between omission, addition, misformation, and misordering errors. The compositions are elicited through four structured writing prompts covering descriptive, narrative, and argumentative genres. Errors are classified, counted, and analysed for frequency and likely causal sources, with cross-referencing to Hausa and English structural patterns to identify transfer errors. The study finds that agreement errors involving gender, number, and case marking account for the highest proportion of morphosyntactic mistakes, while collocation errors dominate the lexical category. Mother tongue interference from Hausa is identified as a primary causal factor in approximately 47 percent of analysed errors. Instructional recommendations include targeted contrastive analysis exercises and increased focus on Arabic-Hausa structural divergences in first-year grammar courses. Keywords: Error analysis, Arabic writing, first-year students, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, morphosyntactic errors.